Brad Tavares is not on steroids.
Indeed, ahead of a potentially history-making weekend, the 27-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran received his custom “50 clean tests” jacket from Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky for passing 50 drug tests throughout his lengthy Octagon career, which began all the way back in 2010.
If you’re wondering why it took Tavares so long to receive the 50-clean-test jacket from Drug Free Sport International (DFSI), it’s because
his levels have been so consistent throughout his career that he didn’t need to be tested as frequently as other athletes.
“Brad is one of the least surprising athletes to receive this accolade,” Novitzky told the media. “This is Brad’s 16th year in the UFC, so he’s been here for the entire existence of the anti-doping program. If you start doing the math, that’s close to 4,000 consecutive days where he’s been responsible and accountable to file where he can be located and tested…To compound that, his biological samples — his urine and blood — are sent to a laboratory that can detect a part per trillion, which is literally a pinch of salt in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.”
“I’ve always wondered why it took me so long to get this 50-tests jacket,” Tavares added. “I remember in the beginning they would show up to my house every week and I was like, ‘Bro, is this what life is going to be like now?’ But he was telling me they looked at my overall samples and my levels have stayed so consistent that they had no reason to overtest me.”
Tavares joins fighters such as Islam Makhachev, Dricus du Plessis, Merab Dvalishvili, and Petr Yan, who have also received jackets in the post-United States Anti-Doping Agency era.
On top of receiving his special jacket, Tavares is also one victory shy of surpassing Michael Bisping for the most wins in UFC middleweight history. Both fighters are currently tied with 16 victories at 185 pounds.
Tavares can break the record if he defeats Eryk Anders at UFC Vegas 114 this weekend (Sat., March 14 2026) inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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